ATHOL – The Private Roads Bylaw Advisory Committee, established to generate a bylaw detailing the town’s responsibilities relative to the maintenance of private roads, has held its first formal meeting.

Select Board Vice Chair Marc Maxwell was chosen to chair the new committee, with fellow board member Russell Raymond elected vice chair. Other voting members include Finance and Warrant Advisory Committee member Michael Butler, Board of Planning and Community Development member Tom Russo, and Jon Costa, representing the Capital Programs Committee.

Non-voting members Margot Parrot and Muriel Holden are representing the residents of public and private ways, respectively. The meeting was held on Tuesday, Aug. 18.

The committee was set up after voters at June’s Annual Town Meeting rejected an article submitted via citizen petition, which called for amending Chapter 5, Section 33, of the town’s bylaws by requiring the Public Works Department to “minimally maintain all asphalt private roads” in Athol. The article specifically mentioned the repair of potholes with “asphalt-based materials” and repair of road drainage issues.

Public Works Director Paul Raskevitz told the committee that his department has traditionally plowed and salted private roads in the winter, as well as providing minimal maintenance.

“There has been no full reconstruction of any of these roads during my tenure on the department,” he said.

Raskevitz explained that the vast majority of road work in Athol is paid for by state Chapter 90 funding, of which the town is receiving $504,000 in FY27. He added, however, that state monies cannot be used for maintenance of private ways.

According to information provided to the committee by Raskevitz, there are 33 private roads in Athol with a combined length of 17,895 feet, or nearly 3.4 miles. Town Manager Shaun Suhoski said there is currently $5,000 set aside in the DPW budget for maintenance of private roads.

“We try to use that to make sure the roads are passable,” Suhoski said.

Suhoski noted that the FY27 budget cut the DPW staff by two people.

“Now we’re going to have two less pieces of equipment plowing roads this winter,” he said. “And we’re not in a position where we can do a lot of work on private roads, unless we go to town meeting and get an appropriation. We can’t get reimbursed from Chapter 90, because they’re not public ways.”

Suhoski said a draft bylaw authored by Town Counsel John Barrett, and which was given to committee members, would allow residents of a private way to ask town meeting for a loan to re-do their road.

A petition to place such an article on a town meeting warrant would need the signatures of at least three-quarters of the abutters on the road in question and Select Board approval to move forward.

Asked what it would take for a private road to become a public way, Raskevitz said it would need to meet the minimum standards set by the state. That would include repaving, improved drainage and acceptance of the road at town meeting.

Maxwell asked committee members to review Barrett’s proposal and weigh in on any changes or additions they may want to suggest at their next meeting on Sept. 15. The committee will meet in Room 21 at Town Hall.

“We need to establish a minimum standard of what we’re going to do relative to plowing and maintenance,” Maxwell said

“Keep in mind that beyond plowing, anything more than that will add to our workload,” said Raskevitz. “And we now have two less people to meet that demand.”

The committee is hoping to create a proposed bylaw in time to place it on the warrant for the Special Town Meeting scheduled for Nov. 9.

This would need to be submitted to the town clerk by Thursday, Sept. 26. Suhoski said if specifics of the bylaw haven’t been worked out by that date, a “placeholder” article could be added to the warrant, giving the committee time to work out details before the Select Board votes on the warrant on Oct. 6.